Conventional firm and flat mattresses may not be very good at disturbing the body's weight and as a result, pressure hot spots may develop along a sleeper's body. Sleepers may toss and turn from one position to another, mainly to relieve these pressure points, which occur at various places along the body where one comes into contact with a mattress. If these pressure points could be alleviated or removed all together then a sleeper may be able to avoid tossing and turning during sleep and stay sleeping. Many people actually wake themselves from sleep as they reposition themselves to become more comfortable. This, obviously, is not conducive to sound sleep. It is therefore desirable that the body be relieved of the need to frequently change positions without actually having to be physically repositioned.
Some sleep experts have reported that the average person tosses and turns 40-60 times during the night. According to multiple scientific sleep studies, more than 70 million Americans may suffer from sleep disorders, such as acid reflux, inflammation, insomnia, sleep apnea, general stress related issues, toxicity, and other health related problems. Sleepers with these conditions experience difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, often resulting in impaired daytime functioning. In one poll, 35 percent of all adults experienced sleep disorder symptoms every night, with 58 percent reporting insomnia at least a few nights per week. Additionally, more than 100 million Americans are, by definition, chronically sleep-deprived.
It is known that the rocking of a baby cradle helps a child to sleep and may have even given rise to the saying, ‘sleep like a baby.’ For an adult, a cruise ship may give an unusual and profound sleep experience and help one fall into a much deeper and more complete sleep than a passenger has experienced before. And after a couple of days on a cruise ship, a passenger may feel more youthful and walk with a “bounce” in their step. There may be several factors at play that allow a better sleep on a cruise ship. One factor may be the roll of the ship in response to ocean waves sufficient to generate movement of a passenger's bed (Beds placed head to foot in a bow to stem direction may not be affected by the ship's motion).
Some studies have shown that rocking increases blood and lymphatic circulation. The heart may pump blood and nutrients into the cells, but to carry toxins away from the cells, the body requires motion. This may be because the body's drainage system, the lymphatic system, has no pump. Doctors know that people without enough movement, or who are bed-ridden, may quickly develop serious health problems. For example after surgery, patients may be asked to get up and move around as soon as possible, even if exhausted and totally in pain. Rocking may therefore speed postoperative recovery and reduce pain.
Additionally, patients may find that rocking just feels good! By reducing backpressure in the circulatory system, rocking motion may decrease swelling throughout the body. Muscles and tissues may stretch and relax during rocking. Soreness, aches, pain and swelling may also diminish noticeably right away through rocking. Rocking may be therefore much more relaxing and more therapeutic than simply lying down. Rocking may create a pumping action that increases circulation between the spinal discs and other joints, bathing a sleeper's cells in fresh nutrients. The nervous system may recognize this and send signals of pleasure to encourage the sleeper or rocker to continue.
Other benefits of rocking are being discovered and acknowledged at the frontiers of science. For example, rocking may increase oxygen delivery to the cells. The body burns calories via oxygen to generate electricity to power muscles and the nervous system. Reduced oxygen to the cells may therefore result in chronic pain, suffering and disease. Cells are starved for oxygen until the lymphatic vessels remove toxins, blood proteins, and water. Rocking promotes this electrochemistry, effectively turning on the “switch” to increasing overall health, energy, and alertness.
Traditionally, most sleep research has centered on the use of drugs or medicine to solve various sleep disorders. There is now sound evidence of the positive affect of rocking. Current sleep studies, as a whole, seem to be missing the link between the gentle, soothing rocking motion on the body's gravitational and lymphatic system and its connection thereto. Current research is discovering how important rocking is for psychosocial well-being; its use has spread far beyond the mother/child cradle, and can be a cure for a wide range of health problems. Further studies have shown that the gentle motion of rocking may release endorphins, a chemical known to improve mood and lessen pain. The studies also indicate that rocking therapy may increase the quality of life for people suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Other studies have indicated the calming movement of rocking can dramatically speed up the healing process in severely ill patients. In addition, rocking may be used as therapy for post-surgery recovery. Cases have been reported of patients recuperating from heart attack and stroke—without any trace of permanent damage—simply because they used rocking therapy while they were recovering. People bedridden with arthritis may be up and around inside a week after regular use of rocking therapy. Rocking therapy may be applied to the following health issues, with remarkable results:                Dementia        Alzheimer's        Autism        Chronic Fatigue Syndrome        Stuttering        Diabetes        Arthritis        Heart Disease        Surgical Recovery        Mental Illness        
While a body is being rocked in a traditional rocking chair, the body is mostly upright in a sitting position. A body, while in a lying position, on the surface of a mattress being rocked may have similar forces acting upon it. A rocking bed may therefore have extremely positive uses in any and all rocking situations whereby one may be benefited by its rocking motion.
However, much of the bedding industry has sought to solve the problem of a body's weight bearing down on a flat, non-moving bed surface by either softening or contouring mattress surfaces. There are hundreds of inventive ideas in the prior art dealing with the improvement of the sleep surface but none have been found that seek to move the mattress in ways that preclude a sleeper from having to reposition themselves during sleep and offer therapeutic benefits at the same time.